last night here on "outfront" we tried to find out from chris van hollen what the president's role would be on the fiscal cliff. >> that remains to be seen exactly who will be the negotiate or negotiators. the white house has to be engaged. the president will make clear as he did in his acceptance speech last night we need to compromise. i think the president will be directly involved. >> directly involved but not clear what his role would be. will the president take the lead? here's the thing. americans want answers soon. today i overheard a major democratic fundraiser and lobbyist ben barnes saying this to a high ranking member of leadership. i'll tell you we better be in a hurry. i don't think the american people has the patience. business doesn't have the patience. american express wrote in its latest quarterly report in the absence of legislative action there continues to be growing concerns about potential impact of fiscal cliff arising from scheduled federal spending cuts and tax increases set for the end of 2012. well they better hurry up because in nine days president obama is g